Author Spotlight: rippingbutterflywings

Hallo lovelies!!! So this girl is one of the sweetest people like…ever. She and spikeyhairgood are both adorably awesome…which is funny since spikey was the one who pointed me in her direction.

I absolutely love her stories. And talking to her is just…like she’s so friendly! Which is rare online…I mean, not usually in my this whole endeavor I’ve got going on, but occasionally. But she’s the sweetest. So let’s hear more from her. :)

Let’s start with an introduction. I’m Kelly, or as more people know me, Kelpie.And you are?
My pen name is rippingbutterflywings (which comes from a line in Paramore’s song “Brick by Boring Brick”), but my real name is Camille.

So, tell me a little about yourself.
I’m 17 years old and a senior (!!!) in high school. I’ve lived in Puerto Rico and Mexico City, and I’m most likely going to college in the US (hopefully NYC) next year. I speak English and Spanish fluently, and I know the basics of French. Also, I love TV shows, movies, and books waaaay too much.

What do you do with yourself when you’re not writing?
I listen to music while playing Sudoku a lot, which is kinda weird. When I’m not at school, I watch TV shows and movies, and I read. I like to sleep, scroll through Tumblr/Twitter, and talk to my friends. I’m a fairly boring person.

What are some things you never leave home without?
My keys, my iPhone (because it’s my way of communicating and my only way of listening to music), and a jacket.

What are some of your favorite books?
I really like The Mortal Instruments, obviously. I like The Darkest Minds trilogy by Alexandra Bracken, Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead, John Green books, anything by Stephanie Perkins (specifically Anna and the French Kiss and Lola and the Boy Next Door), The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin, Fangirl and Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell, Delirium and Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver, The Truth About Forever by Sarah Dessen, The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater, and The Spectacular Now by Tim Tharp.

Favorite TV shows and movies?
Sooo many. Right now, my #1 TV show is The 100. Oh my God, that show is amazing. Aside from that, I really like One Tree Hill, How I Met Your Mother, American Horror Story, The Carrie Diaries, the first 3-4 seasons of The Vampire Diaries, Supernatural, Doctor Who, Misfits, Teen Wolf, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, George Lopez, The Nanny, Awkward (though I’m not caught up), Pretty Little Liars, Friends, Bob’s Burgers, New Girl, The Office, Parks and Recreation, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, season 1 of Orphan Black, That 70s Show, and more that I can’t remember right now. As for web series, I also like The Lizzie Bennet Diaries, Emma Approved, and Carmilla.

For movies, I really like Stuck in Love, pretty much any Tim Burton movie, The Fault in Our Stars, Guardians of the Galaxy (pretty much any Marvel movie), Tangled, Pitch Perfect, The First Time, Clueless, Scream, She’s The Man, 10 Things I Hate About You, Legally Blonde, It’s A Boy Girl Thing, The Intouchables, the Hunger Games movies, High School Musical (no shame), White Chicks, Clue, and a looot more, but those are some of them.

If you were stranded on a deserted island and had 3 famous people with you, who would you choose and why?
I would have Nick Offerman, because he’s in one of my favorite TV shows/is generally hilarious, and he’s also a carpenter, so he could, like, work with wood and build stuff. Like a boat. To get us off the island. For the second person, I’d have Dylan O’Brien, so we can be awkward and make out a little bit, because he’s gorgeous and adorable. And, for the third person, I’d have Amy Poehler, solely because she’s insanely intelligent and hilarious and I admire her.

What is 1 place you’d love to visit?
Out of the places I haven’t been to, it’s a tie between England and Paris, France. As for the places I have been to, I’m always up for visiting New York City.

Do you have any pet peeves?
When I let people borrow my books and they return them in bad conditions. When I’m doing something on my laptop and people look over my shoulder. People who lie to my face. Disorganized teachers. When people take my stuff without asking. There are more, but that’s all I can think of right now.

What’s your favorite scent-one that says “home” to you?
I think the smell of something cooking? Because my mom is always cooking.

What kind of music do you like? Any you absolutely can’t stand?
Um, I think that, for the most part, I stick to pretty much anything that isn’t in a foreign language, rap, electronic, or contains offensive material. I totally avoid electronic music, because I despise it. Like, the whole dubstep thing just gives me a headache.

Tell me one random thing about yourself.
I failed Drama class in my freshman year of high school and had to retake it.

Just for some insight into you pick one. Feel free to tell why or not.Chocolate or vanilla? Vanilla for everything except ice cream.Silver or gold? Both.Apple or PC? Apple!White wine or red wine? Red wine.Liquor or beer? Liquor, because beer tastes like pee.Coffee or tea? Tea.Sleep in or get up early? Sleeping in (I’ve been waking up at 2pm ever since my break started).

Okay, now for the good stuff.What are your preferred fandoms for writing/reading?
The Mortal Instruments, obviously. I’ve written one-shots for a few others, and I attempted to write a story for Twilight once, but I stick to TMI. Same goes for reading. I’m actually trying to write a fanfiction right now for The 100, so there’s that.

What kind of environment do you write in?
Alone, with my headphones in, while in bed (mostly), in my PJs, and with food.

Ever write in your PJs?
All the time.

How bout naked?
I don’t think I have.

Where do you find inspiration for your stories? Do you pull your real life experiences into your writing?
I mean, I’m not a super experienced person when it comes to relationships and stuff, so, in a sense, no. Inspiration from my stories comes from feelings I want to portray or friendships/relationships that seem ideal to me. They usually come from watching TV shows/movies/hearing friends talk and finding something I want to work with but with different people. Sometimes, though, I do pull some experiences into my writing, but it doesn’t happen often. It’s more about emotions, and then everything else is made up.

Do you write on a schedule?
Uhhh, not really. Like, I pre-wrote all of Coming Home during the summer because I knew that this semester was going to kick my butt (and I was right!). I like to pre-write and then send them to my beta as I update so that there will always be something for me to post. Aside from that, I just try to write at least two or three days per week.

Do you plan out your stories or just write whatever comes to you?
I mostly have a general plan of the plot. It depends on the story. For Coming Home, I just had their relationships laid out, and then I made up everything on the spot. Once that was done, I had to go back and change a lot of inconsistencies, because I changed my mind about stuff halfway through writing the story. I usually have a pretty clear plan, though, even if it’s in my head.

Do you have any writing rituals or superstitions?
Not really. I always have to be listening to music, I think, but that’s pretty much it. I also wait a few days after I get an idea for a multi-chapter story, just to make sure it’s not a one-day thing and that I’ll actually feel inspired enough to write the whole thing.

Is one genre easier for you to write than another? Is there anything that you just aren’t that great at writing?
Um, I think that sometimes comedy/romance is really easy for me to write. And friendship stuff, too. I do struggle with smut and action, though. I am so terrible at those two.

What is the hardest part for you about writing fanfics?
Well, because I’m not really super experienced in what I write, I’m always really worried that I’m not being accurate. Aside from that, it’s mostly the fact that I have a terrible memory and I forget things about characters and stuff.

Is there a method for coming up with titles for your stories and/or chapters?
I usually just use song titles to name my stuff. I mostly just name my stories and not my chapters, because I did name all of my chapters for one of my stories (Oath), and it took me like 2 hours of searching to find the title/song I wanted. It was a pain. But I kind of wanna do it again. Anyway, yeah. It’s hours of browsing through my iTunes and 8tracks playlists.

Which character do you identify with the most?I’m gonna say Clary, but also Isabelle. I really liked Clary’s personality for the most part, but she made some stupid choices sometimes. I liked Isabelle’s personality overall, though, and how loyal and brave and kickass and awesome she was. So I think I have a little bit of both, because I always felt like I could relate to the two of them in different ways.

Which of your stories is your favorite to write and why? Which of your stories is your favorite concept wise?
Coming Home was my favorite to write, hands down. I wrote it during the summer in the space of a month, I think, and it’s the longest thing I’ve ever written. I had soooo much fun with it, mostly because I love writing in first person. I think it’s also my favorite concept wise, though there’s one I’m working on (that hasn’t gone up yet) with a concept I really like. I also liked the concept of Bloom, because I liked how everything happened at a party, and it was hilarious to write.

Do you talk to your family about your writing?
Not even a little bit. They all know I wanna write, because I had to tell them that it’s what I plan to study next year, but I’ve never let them see anything, and I don’t mention writing to them.

What is your favorite book/episode in your preferred series?
In TMI, my favorite book is a tie between City of Ashes and City of Glass. I can’t choose.

What is the best compliment you’ve ever received on your stories?
I’ve received a lot of amazing compliments, but I think that my favorite compliment is when people say that I should be an author and that they would buy my books. I think that, as someone who’s about to go out into the real world and start a career in writing (hopefully), it’s pretty much the best thing anyone can ever say to me. That being said, I love all the compliments I’ve ever gotten.

How do you deal with the inevitable criticism?
It’s just…there. If it’s the kind of criticism that says, “Oh, I hate your story,” and that’s it, then I just ignore it. I’m like, “That’s nice,” and then I share it with my friends and we laugh and that’s that. If it’s something more specific (like, a lot of people criticized the slow development of Clary and Jace’s relationship in Coming Home, for example), then I just look at it, and I take it into consideration, and then I’m like, “Eh.” I understand that my stories aren’t for everyone, and I don’t want people to ever feel like they’re forced to read them or anything. People can criticize my stories all they want, and I respect their opinions, but I’m not going to change my idea to fit their interests. That being said, I don’t take it to heart.

What is your favorite/least favorite part about your preferred fandoms?
My favorite part of the TMI fandom is how open and supportive people are to fanart and fanfics and all of that. I think it’s really important to welcome different areas of artistic expression, and this fandom really does that. I don’t really think I have a least favorite part of the fandom, to be honest. I mean, the one thing I would say that I dislike about this fandom, and pretty much any fandom out there, is when people plagiarize other people’s stories. It’s never happened to me, but it’s been happening for as long as I can remember, and it’s something I really hate. Aside from that, I haven’t had a bad encounter with anyone.

Do you have any advice for aspiring writers?
Don’t give up. If writing is something that you really wanna do, then write. You’re not going to be amazing right away, but continue to do it anyway. The more you try, the more you improve. Also, don’t let popular trends or people’s words dictate what you should write. If you wanna write something, then just write it. :)

Have any recommendations?
So many. Anything by IWriteNaked is awesome. I’m currently reading Day Late Friend by spikeyhairgood, Breakups and Shakeups by DeathCabForMari, The (Somewhat) Chance Encounter by katethewriter, and A Tale of Two by simplymoshingintomordor (though, admittedly, I’m not caught up yet). Aside from those, I love anything by KissingFire, MaxWaylandGrey, and ddpjclaf.